Thoughts, ideas and insights directly from the ANA

March 25, 2009

“Thank you, It is my pleasure”

By Barry Garbarino

On a recent vacation trip to Mexico, I encountered a new response from members of the hospitality team at the resort. Instead of the usual (and almost always expected) “Your Welcome” after saying “Thank you”, we now heard, “It is my pleasure!” This response was uniformly used by all the staff members that we encountered during our stay. To the untrained consumer this may have slipped by, but when I heard it, I knew that smart marketing was in play. This is an instance where marketing and customer service are intertwined.

I think the reason that it really stuck out in my mind (as my customer service training took place with The Walt Disney Company) was that the response wasn’t the standard, Your Welcome. Now-a-days, smart consumers are realizing that as a customer or guest of an establishment or business, we need to be thanked. Not only thanked for our patronage but for choosing them over the competition. This new, well trained response (also known as institutional knowledge) made me feel special and it also acknowledged the fact that I was a respected guest of the establishment (it was also their way of thanking me!)

So when I returned home after a great vacation and had a day to try and settle back into the real-world, I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from the resort. It was a thank you email. A very well written thank you note, which the following contained:

“Everyday we make it a point to ensure that every aspect of our guests’ vacation is nothing but magnificent. And having you stay with us again would be the ultimate compliment toward our efforts of providing you with the best! We look forward to seeing you again.”

As this was my second stay at the Cancun Palace Resort, I couldn’t have agreed more with their thank you note. I am strong believer that customer service IS the new Marketing and to read more about this topic, please check out the article: Is Customer Service the New Marketing?

Have you encountered marketing driven customer service? If so, we would love to hear about it!

2 Comments

Thomas, thank you for your suggestion. I will definitely take a look at that book. In a time where retaining customer and/or guests is extremely important, businesses that reinforce and encourage great customer service will always be on top. I applaud any organization that makes service a top priority. Thanks for the comment and please keep reading!